4.  The applicant was born in 1938 and lives in Plevník - Drienové.
5.  Inheritance proceedings in respect of the applicant's father's estate were concluded by a decision of 31 July 1962. The stamp on that decision indicates that it became final on 27 October 1962.
6.  On 17 February 1995 the Banská Bystrica Regional Court, upon the appeal of an heir lodged on 15 October 1962, quashed the above decision on the ground that it (i) had been issued without sufficient establishment of the facts and (ii) could not be reviewed for lack of reasons. On 6 March 1995 the case file was remitted for further examination to the Považská Bystrica District Court which had taken over similar cases in the meantime.
7.  On 13 July 1998 the district court discontinued the proceedings since the matter at issue was a res iudicata. The district court stated that the decision of the State Notary of 31 July 1962 had become final on 27 October 1962 and that no new assets had been found. On 31 May 1999 the Trenčín Regional Court quashed the decision of 13 July 1998 and remitted the case file for further examination to the first-instance. It reasoned that the decision of the State Notary of 31 July 1962 had been quashed by the Banská Bystrica Regional Court on 17 February 1995 and the case file had been remitted for further examination. On 25 May 2000 the Supreme Court rejected the applicant's appeal on points of law lodged against the decision of the Trenčín Regional Court of 31 May 1999.
8.  On 25 March 2004 the district court stayed the inheritance proceedings pending the outcome of another set of civil proceedings (file no. 6 C 156/04, see below). On 15 July and 18 November 2004 the district court corrected errors in its decision. The district court decided on the applicant's appeal in its decision of 5 May 2005. The decision to stay the inheritance proceedings became final on 3 June 2005.
9.  In the subsequent period, the district court repeatedly verified whether the related civil proceedings had ended. The inheritance proceedings are still stayed.
10.  On 18 March 2010 the Považská Bystrica District Court delivered a judgment. Those proceedings are now pending before the appellate court.
11.  On 7 March 2002 the Považská Bystrica District Court dismissed the applicant's claim to have a donation contract declared null and void. On 22 April 2003 the Trenčín Regional Court confirmed the judgment.
12.  On 10 May 2006 the Constitutional Court found that the Považská Bystrica District Court had violated the applicant's right to a hearing without unjustified delay in proceedings nos. D1133/98, Dnot 652/96.
13.  The Constitutional Court awarded 60,000 Slovakian korunas to the applicant as just satisfaction in respect of non-pecuniary damage and ordered reimbursement of the applicant's legal costs. It did not order the district court to avoid further delays as the inheritance proceedings were stayed pending the outcome of related civil proceedings.
14.  The Constitutional Court noted that (i) it had jurisdiction to examine the duration of the proceedings only as from 15 February 1993 and (ii) until 6 March 1995 the district court had correctly assumed that the inheritance proceedings had been concluded by a final decision. Therefore, it examined the delays which had occurred in the proceedings only after 6 March 1995. It further stated that even after that date the proceedings had lasted nine years and the district court had been responsible for four years and nine months of delays.
15.  A Constitutional Court judge informed the applicant in a letter of 24 August 2004 that his submission concerning the proceedings before the Považská Bystrica District Court in case no. 3 C 845/01 did not comply with the formal requirements for proceedings before the Constitutional Court.
16.  On 18 February 2010 the Constitutional Court rejected the applicant's complaint about the length of unspecified proceedings before the Považská Bystrica District and Regional Court and the State Notary as falling short of the statutory requirements.